Clause Search—a revolutionary new power tool—reveals search results that you can’t find any other way.

Your Logos library is full of wisdom and insight—Bible dictionaries, commentaries, academic journals, sermon archives—but it’s Logos’ search tools that help you connect that knowledge to what you’re studying. You’ll learn which searches work best for which scenarios, so you can quickly and confidently locate the information you need.

This webinar will dive a little deeper than the previous few. If you’re new to Logos, you can catch up with the last two webinars right here:

One of the remarkable things about Logos 5 is that, while it’s extremely powerful, it also makes getting started simple. Just type in a passage or topic and hit “Go”—Logos will perform dozens of hours’ worth of research for you. Then, if you want to zero in on a specific word or idea, you can choose from a huge arsenal of specialized tools.

But how do you know if you’re using the right tools for your study? Could there be a helpful insight tucked away in some corner of your library that you’ve yet to explore?

If you already own a Logos 5 base package, you’ll learn to make the most of its features, datasets, and books. If you don’t, you’ll get a detailed walkthrough of Logos 5 so you can make an informed decision.

This is the second such webinar we’ve hosted. Attendees of the first one had this to say:

“A really useful video. It’s always good just to see the way in which other people study—I think I’ll be incorporating some of these tips into my study.”

The Logos forums are a wonderful place. There’s always someone ready to answer your questions and help you get the most from your Bible study. Never has this been clearer than in light of the thread “Theology/Denomination Tags,” which has been home to a fascinating crowd-sourced tagging project for the last 18 months.

A forum user suggested that Logos ought to tag all 40,000 resources on Logos.com by denomination, so that people could know each book’s theological tradition at a glance. That sort of tagging represents a tremendous amount of work, and the poster was initially misunderstood by several in the forum community. But he persisted and clarified his vision. Another user pointed out that users already have the tools to create these tags themselves, and suggested that the community take on the project. Slowly, the two of them won over a number of Logos power-users and forum MVPs. Together, over the course of 250+ posts, they did it. Now you can benefit from their work—just join the “Logos Library Theology/Denomination Tags” group on Faithlife.com!

What did they create?

The team made collection rules for every major denomination and theological category they could think of—78, to be exact.

A collection rule is a set of criteria according to which Logos can search your library. For example, I have a custom collection rule for Lexham Press books—“Publisher:Lexham.” It creates a collection for all the Lexham Press books I own; when I buy new ones, they’re added automatically. I can then quickly search my Lexham collection, or even add it to custom guides.

The forum team created a rule like that for every theological group, from the pre-Reformation to the Reformation and everything in between. Many of these rules are very involved—the Puritans rule, for instance, contains 26 authors, one seminary, and one publishing house.

How can I get it?

When the group reached consensus last month, a forum user created an open Faithlife group around the project. You can join it right now, click the Documents tab, and add their work to your Logos library.

There are two major takeaways here:

First, the Logos forums host a very special digital community. If you’re not involved, you’re missing out. Join the conversation at Community.Logos.com.

Proclaim gives you $1,000 worth of effortlessly beautiful Smart Media. It’s a great presentation package, but if you’re presenting each week, you might want even more.

Proclaim’s talented designers have crafted a line of deluxe presentation art: Pro Media. It’s a whole suite of seasonal and generic title slides, content and lyric slides, special-case assets like Facebook- and Twitter-centric announcements, even stunning videos. And we’re adding more art to Pro Media every month! You won’t have to go looking for great worship art anymore—with Pro Media, it comes directly to you.

Of course, all the art included in your Pro Media subscription is Smart Media—for every piece, our design team has already preselected the best font, text color, size, and positioning. Proclaim’s art gives you an elegant presentation every time.

We think that everyone in a church, from the administrator to the media director, should be able to create compelling visual presentations. That’s the game-changing idea behind Proclaim. Intuitive features like Smart Media ensure that you don’t have to spend time matching font and text colors with your art. Proclaim’s collaboration-oriented design meets the unique needs of everyone on your team, from the senior pastor to the worship leader to the tech volunteer.

Meet the new Proclaim

Proclaim recently got a major update—here’s a rundown of what’s new:

Redesigned user interface

Embracing the flat aesthetic, we’ve eliminated gradients and reflections. The new UI improves performance, not just looks—now there are fewer graphical elements to move around.

Speed, stability & continuity

We’ve updated some of Proclaim’s core technology, making everything faster, more stable, and more consistent across platforms. Now, slides render identically on both Mac and Windows.

Customization that lasts

Smart Media is one of the ways Proclaim saves you a lot of time. And now, if you customize a slide—say, to match an uploaded background image—your changes will be preserved even if you change backgrounds. If you customize your slides, you’ll only have to do it once!

On-Screen Bible

The new On-Screen Bible service item brings your preaching passage to life with subtle animations. With three styles and eight colors to choose from, you’re sure to find a look that fits every presentation you build. Just type a passage into the Reference box and your animation is created in seconds. Check it out:

Affordable pricing for churches of every size

Proclaim pricing scales to make exceptional church presentations affordable for churches of all sizes. We don’t charge per download, so you can install Proclaim on as many computers as you like. Likewise, we don’t charge per user—you can collaborate with as many volunteers as you like, without paying extra.

Your whole church benefits from Proclaim. Use it in youth group, Sunday school class, small group, children’s church, church proper, and anywhere else you can think of—all at no extra cost.

Logos 5 offers so many time-saving features that it can be hard to keep track of them all. Here are three I use on a regular basis:

1. “Update Now”

You can force an update by typing “Update Now” into the command box, which directs Logos to search for updates to both the software and all your resources. Resource updates include things like additional links, typo fixes, and—of course—downloads of new books you’ve recently purchased. Logos updates itself on its own, but Update Now starts the process immediately.

2. “Close All”

My favorite layout includes an exegetical guide, a passage guide, a half-dozen Bibles, four commentaries, and the info tool. I usually start there and, as I study, open even more books, guides, and Bibles. It’s not uncommon for me to end up with three dozen tabs open across four different panes. It would take at least two minutes to close them individually, but I can close them all at once by typing “Close All” into the command box.

3. “Facilitate Serendipitous Discovery”

Many Logos users have multiple thousands of books. With a theological library that large, you might have books you’ve never read—or even opened. The Facilitate Serendipitous Discovery (FSD) command opens a resource at random, so you can get to know even more of your library. Type “FSD” into the command box to start exploring. I use this command daily, and I’m still finding new things.

Bonus: drag to shortcuts bar

All three of these commands can be saved to the shortcuts bar. Just type them and then, rather than pressing enter to execute, drag the command from the dropdown menu into your shortcuts bar, to the right of the command box.

As you can see, “update now,” “close all,” and “FSD” are the first three items on my shortcuts bar. You can add your favorite Bibles, books, tools, and layouts, too.

Over the next few months, we’ll be highlighting some of the most popular products in each resource category on Logos.com. Today we start with commentaries.

Three reader favorites

It’s important to lean on the wisdom and experience of those who have come before us (Proverbs 11:14). Commentaries are one of the best ways to do just that:

“It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others . . . It has been the fashion of late years to speak against the use of commentaries . . . A respectable acquaintance with the opinions of the giants of the past, might have saved many an erratic thinker from wild interpretations and outrageous inferences”
—Charles Spurgeon

Logos.com offers nearly three thousand commentaries. That’s a lot to choose from, so here are three of our most popular sets:

The EBC gives you an analysis of each biblical book, plus an introduction, outline, and bibliography. The result is a well-rounded, accessible commentary recognized for excellence by an ECPA Gold Medallion Award. A team of 50 authors contributed their expertise, each articulating well-researched convictions while dealing fairly with opposing points of view.

For a more academic perspective, add the 59-volume Word Biblical Commentary to your Logos library. This huge set enjoyed universal acclaim in print, and now, networked with your other resources in the Logos format, it’s even more powerful. The WBC’s depth makes it one of Logos’ most sought-after series.

On every page, this newer set demonstrates how the truth of Scripture remains as relevant today as it ever was. Like many commentaries, it explains historical background and original-language nuance; more than that, though, it also offers pragmatic modern applications for the truth it unearths.

Coming soon . . .

We’re not done adding to our commentary library—there’s some great new content on the way. You can bid on or pre-order both of these sets right now!

Charles Spurgeon wrote formal commentaries on only two books—Psalms and Matthew. But, of course, he taught on the rest of the Bible all throughout his massive body of work. Logos’ own Elliot Ritzema has undertaken the task of combing through Spurgeon’s essays, lectures, sermons, and books, gathering Spurgeon’s words into commentary form. The first volume—Galatians—is available for download right now, and eight more volumes are available for pre-order at a great discount.

In the late nineteenth century, the Anglican Church was at a crossroads. Controversial issues of historical critcism, racism, and polygamy clamored for a definitive response. F. C. Cook led a team of 30 scholars to craft a remarkably self-aware set of commentaries that speak not just to Anglicans but to the the global church about its place in a fallen world. We’re bringing this 13-volume set to Logos through Community Pricing, so you can help set the price—and get an amazing discount.

Download, pre-order, or bid on your favorite commentary sets right now—you can take up to 18 months to pay with an interest-free payment plan.

You subscribe to LogosTalk because you want to hear about special offers, improve your Bible study, and stay up to date on the latest Pre-Pub and Community Pricing products—but have you checked out our other blogs?

We have an entire family of blogs, covering everything from devotionals to Bible study tips to seminary advice. Here are a few you might enjoy:

Proclaim: Great for pastors, worship leaders, and users of Proclaim Church Presentation Software, the Proclaim blog covers everything related to the worship arts. If you’re involved in service planning, this blog is a must-read.

Never miss a post!

Subscribe to your favorite blogs by email or RSS to make sure you never miss a thing. Then, if you want to stay up to date on the top content from each blog, subscribe to the Logos Weekly Digest list—you’ll receive one email a week with highlights from each blog.

It’s been more than five years since Logos released Reftagger, the web tool that converts Bible references into links with hover-preview. Since then, it’s been installed on more than 13,000 websites and used to preview more than 20 billion verses. The newly updated Reftagger is even better. It’s coming very soon, but the beta is available now!

What does it do?

Reftagger automatically detects Scripture references and converts them into links to an online Bible. It even creates a preview when readers hover over the reference, so they don’t have to leave your website. The hover-preview also shows social icons, making it easier than ever for visitors to share Scripture.

How does it look?

It looks like this: 1 John 4:9. It works on verse ranges too, like this: 1 John 4:9–10. And it even handles a variety of reference formats, like I Jn. 4:9.

You can customize the colors, version, and sharing options to match your site, and the newly redesigned hover-preview looks great on websites of any style.

How does it work?

Paste the script into the footer of your website with JavaScript enabled, and voilà! All your Scripture references will be hyperlinked automatically.

Choose from two done-for-you themes—light or dark—or customize everything, including the background, text color, sharing options, and translation.

Grab the new script from the forums, and install it on your website today!

The Seattle Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl, and Logos stands firmly behind them! Here’s proof: a 12th Man flag flying high at Logos HQ.

From the beginning, this has been a season of high expectations. The Hawks were favored to beat out longtime rival San Francisco for the NFC West crown, and many predicted that the team would contend for the NFC Championship and even a Super Bowl title. The Seahawks have lived up to every expectation.

Earlier this season, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized the Seahawks’ fans as the loudest in the world. Their passion and savvy create a home-field advantage for the Seahawks—one so measurable that the team has taken to calling their fans the 12th Man. Since 2005, Seahawks opponents have committed more false-start penalties than any other team—130—due in large part to the noise in Seattle’s CenturyLink Field.

As the Hawks prepare for their February 2 showdown with the Denver Broncos, the team’s loyal fans are wearing signs of solidarity back home. Logos is no exception.